My aim is to offer insights into some of the more subtle principles underpinning prints. The commentary is based on thirty-eight years of teaching and the prints and other collectables that I am focusing on are those which I have acquired over the years.
In the galleries of prints (accessed by clicking the links immediately below) I am also adding fresh images offered for sale. If you get lost in the maze of links, simply click the "home" button to return to the blog discussions.

Michel Melot
(1978) in ”Graphic Art of the Pre-Impressionists” notes that there is a
related drawing in the Cabinet des Dessins (the Louvre) and that the plate is
held in the Louvre Chalcographie under the title of “Les Ruines” and
interesting advises that the plate is “a reused plate, already engraved on the
reverse by another engraver” (p. 277).

Condition:
marvellously rich and crisp impression with large margins and dry-stamped by the
Louvre Chalcographie below the plate mark (towards the lower centre of the
margin). The sheet is in excellent condition with a few scattered flecks of
dirt/stains and the back of the sheet is darken with oxidisation/age-toning.

I am selling
this gem of a landscape by one of the leading artists of the Barbizon School
for AU$178 in total (currently US$133.99/EUR120.11/GBP102.05 at the time of
posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are
interested in purchasing this etching, please contact me
(oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make
the payment easy.

This seemingly
simple panoramic etching of the old ruins of the Château de Crémieu in Isère (about
40 km east of Lyon) is a true nugget of information for printmakers, as it showcases
an interesting array of Daubigny’s—one of the foremost printmakers in
nineteenth century France—techniques. For instance, note how he employs a dot
roulette to give tone and atmospheric substance to the cloudy sky. By contrast
to the layered and multidirectional matrix of dots rendering the sky, Daubigny
varies the length and character of his lines describing the rugged terrain of
the region from long and emphatically laid, return-stroke lines (i.e. a natural
“z”-like formation of aligned strokes made quickly) in the foreground to much
shorter, carefully laid hatched lines in the far distance. Of special interest
to me is how Daubigny portrays the single tree shown on the far right. Here, he
expresses the effects of distance by defining some of the tree’s silhouette
outline and softening other lines with dots. For me this is fascinating to see
a great artist in control of how a landscape is perceived.

“Landscape of a
hill with rocks, a path in the centre descending from left to right, two
figures walking up along the path, a farmhouse in the centre with trees behind
it, a village in the right background; plate 23 of the catalogue 'Album de la
fête artistique à Bruxelles' (1850)”
(http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3338423&partId=1&searchText=Landscape+in+the+Ardennes&page=1).

Condition:
marvellously crisp impression with printer’s creases/unevenness (?) in the chine
collé. The verso is lined with a fine washi support sheet. The sheet is in
excellent condition (i.e. there are no tears, holes, stains or foxing).

I am selling
this loosely drawn landscape for AU$78 in total (currently US$58.53/EUR52.56/GBP44.66
at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere
in the world.

If you are
interested in purchasing this landscape etching by a leading 19th
century Belgium printmaker, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com)
and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Fourmois is
best known for his landscapes of the Ardennes and Campine—although he did
venture into countryside of Dauphiné (south eastern France) and Switzerland. This
view of the rugged terrain for which the Ardennes is famous is captured
beautifully with Fourmois’ signature-style of building up an image with a layering
of tiny curved marks.

What I
especially like about this print is the way that Fourmois spotlights an almost
diamond-shaped area in the near foreground. For a moment, when I was gazing at
this spot-lit area, I had difficultly rationalising how he achieved this effect—as
if a shaft of light had illuminated the ground. But then I realised that the
artist has left a faint trace of plate tone (i.e. grey) over the plate and had
thoroughly wiped clean the plate tone from this particular area until it
gleamed.

Condition: beautiful
impression but in poor condition with restorations to the chine collé, trimmed
within the platemark and with slight wrinkling. There glue residue at the outer
edges (recto) and the back of the sheet is unevenly discoloured with
oxidation/age-toning.

I am selling
this amazingly delicate and finely executed engraving for AU$61 in total
(currently US$45.91/EUR41.14/GBP35.01at the time of posting this listing)
including postage and handling to anywhere in the world. (Note that this print
has condition issues, as outlined above, and the low price reflects these
issues.)

If you are
interested in purchasing this exquisite print, please contact me
(oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make
the payment easy.

Although this
may not be the finest copy on the market of this very beautiful print, the
delicacy and loving attention to detail that the master engraver is able to
give to this translation of Raphael’s study of the now lost painting, “Madonna
Sergardi”, is very evident.

What is
remarkable about engravings by Henriquel-Dupont is the care and conspicuous amount
of time that he took to make his prints. For example, his most famous engraving,
which reproduces Delaroche's decoration for the Hémicycle of the École des
Beaux-Arts, took ten years to execute. Such dedication …

Condition:
well-inked impression with generous margins. There is scattered, very light
spotting and age tone showing in the outer edges of the margins; otherwise the
sheet is in excellent condition for its age.

I am selling
this masterful etching along with the Picart’s “Plate 38” shown further below (i.e. two
etchings by Picart) for AU$120 in total (currently US$90.41/EUR81/GBP68.89 at
the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in
the world.

If you are
interested in purchasing this pair of lightly drawn etchings by one of the
world’s master printmakers, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com)
and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Although not
everyone may agree with my next comment, this print captures the essence of
Poussin’s drawings: a gestalt view of the portrayed narrative where—if one were
to slightly close one’s eyes—no feature is more important than the next.

In the case of
this image, the easily read narrative of two mature-aged gents (i.e. chaps that
are capable of growing a decent beard) engaged in looking at a standing figure
with a loosely unravelling cloak while a cupid points at a fully unclothed lady
in the distance is reduced to a pattern of lights and darks. This pattern in
the play of light and shadow, in my opinion, is not really about rendering the
superficial form of the figures. Instead, it is about creating an effect that
at first excites the eye and then invites the viewer to look closely at what is
presented.

Arguably,
Titian took this patterning of light and shadow a stage further by creating an
almost checkboard pattern in many of his mature works … a concept that even
creeps into the works of artists like Brangwyn.

Condition:
well-inked impression with generous margins. There is scattered spotting and
age tone showing in the outer edges of the margins; otherwise the sheet is in
good condition.

Interestingly,
Picart owned Salvator Rosa’s drawing that this etching reproduces. What is
especially interesting for me, is that Picart uses the comparatively crude
technique of adding additional small strokes to a line when he wishes to
thicken it. I mention this clumsy technique as I am certain that he would have
been aware of the échoppe etching tool developed by Jacques Callot
(c.1592–1635) especially for the purpose of varying the thickness of a line to
make it swell and narrow “naturally.”

The idea of
trying to duplicate the natural hand gestures of artists when they draw has
been an ongoing fascination for printmakers. Even in the 15th century, the
famous Pollaiuolo (1431–98) devised a tricky technique designed to emulate a
draughtsman’s return stroke that he employed in his only print, "The
Battle of the Nudes." Pollaiuolo’s use of this labour intensive and very
contrived technique of creating return strokes was essentially to give the
appearance that all his engraved lines were connected the way that drawings are
made. Not that the enthusiasm for reproducing the appearance of natural
mark-making stopped with this fascinating technique. After Pollaiuolo’s plate
wore down from repeated editions, the full return-stroke disappeared (because
the return stroke was engraved much lighter) leaving only the hooks at the
start and finish of the main line. This effect was picked up by Francesco
Rosselli (1445–before 1513) who then used this as his trademark hook stroke.

With Picart’s
translation of Rosa’s drawing there is a desire to not only capture the speed
of the original drawing but also the pentimenti—early beginning strokes that
could be read as mistakes drawn over with later marks—of Rosa’s tentative
preliminary thoughts; see, for example, the reworked drawing of Sylla’s
advancing leg.

For those
interested in the legend of Glaucus and Scylla, Glaucus was a fisherman turned
merman smitten with the beautiful nymph, Scylla. After being rejected by Scylla
(as illustrated in this print) Glaucus seeks help from the sea-sorceress,
Circe, in terms of preparing a potion to make Sylla fall in love with him.
Sadly, as luck would have it, Circe was smitten with Glaucus and decided to
make Sylla’s life a misery by concocting a portion that ultimately turned Sylla
into an ugly monster with a tail consisting of vicious dogs. Of course, Glaucus
loses interest and Sylla spends the rest of her days eating passing sailors.

Inscribed with
signature under the image borderline (lower-left) and at plate edge
(lower-left) "Les chefs -d'oeuvre _ 47"; the title (lower-centre);
and the printer’s name (lower-right) "Imp. Chardon-Wittman."

Condition: Rich
impression with full margins as published. There is light foxing, age-darkening
at the edges and an area of lightening of the paper margin at the top-right;
otherwise the print is in good condition.

I am selling
this beautiful etching by Daubigny which epitomises the Barbizon School that
changed the course of printmaking for a total cost of AU$145 (currently US$109.35/EUR97.93/GBP83.42
at the time of posting this listing including postage and handling to anywhere
in the world. If you are interested in purchasing this etching please send me
an email and I will email you a PayPal invoice.

This print has been sold

Prints like
this very romantic image of the evening settling upon the rural landscape as a
farmer attends to his cows followed by a woman carrying a child and holding
another by the hand (no doubt his family) exemplifies the famous Barbizon
School of artists. Although the print is small in size it is (without wishing
to sound too pompous) epic in scale in terms of the layering of meanings it
projects. What I mean by this grand statement is that at the time the print was
executed there was an exodus of country folk heading out of the rural pastures
to the greater fortunes of the newly industrialised cities. Essentially, this
print is like a bucolic icon created to stand as an image evoking a fading era.
How sad and deeply significant this print must have been for Daubigny as he
drew what may well have been the last true souls of the rural landscape before
industry changed everything.

Inscribed with
signature under the image borderline (lower-left); the title (lower-centre);
and the printer’s name (lower-right)

Melot 122v (of
viii), Delteil 122v (of viii)

Condition:
Superb impression in pristine condition with full margins (and remnants of
tissue-guard) as published.

I am selling this rare, original and arguably
Daubigny's most famous etching for a total cost of AU$230 (currently US$173.35/EUR155.27/GBP132.23
at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere
in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this etching in top condition
please send me an email and I will email you a PayPal invoice.

This is one of
the last prints made by Daubigny. In the previous six years Daubigny had
dedicated himself, almost exclusively, to painting as (according to Melot in
"Graphic Art of the Pre-Impressionists") he was "much in demand
as a painter" (p. 282). Beyond the visual poetry that Daubiigny captures
in this print of light filtering through trees and the romance of embracing
lovers, what is especially beautiful is the lively line work that he employs.
Interestingly, Melot proposes that this and the other five of Daubigny's final
plates "were increasingly close to the style of the Impressionists in
their use of delicate and vibrating small strokes" (p. 282). Indeed,
etchings like this earn Daubigny the title of a "Pre-Impressionist."

My belief that this is not
an antique painting is based on the fact that the image appears to be painted
over the text and that the uppermost surface of the paint is smooth rather than
slightly abraded as would be the case if the painting had been an original
image in an illuminated book.

Tempera and
gouache with gold leaf on fine India paper

Size: (sheet)
20 x 10.3 cm

Condition: worm
holes in the sheet and the painted image has small losses (i.e. very tiny
flakes of paint are missing).

I am selling
this exquisite hand-painted Indian book-leaf for AU$300 in total (currently US$226.48/EUR202.74/GBP172.98
at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere
in the world.

If you are
interested in purchasing this fine example of the Mogul style of painting,
please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal
invoice to make the payment easy.

I was shuffling
through my prints last night and I came upon this exquisite painting that I
collected about thirty years ago when travelling through India in an inappropriate vehicle: a double-decker
London bus. At the time that I purchased the painting I knew (or at least I suspected)
that it was unlikely to be an original Mogul illuminated leaf from a book but
I wanted the page regardless, simply because it was so well executed and it fitted well
with my vision of Indian painting: the use of stacked space where the portrayed
subjects are layered on top of one another rather than disposed using the Western
convention of perspective and the arrangement of key pictorial elements in separated “wells” of space.

Monday, 29 August 2016

“Waterfall with
Shepherd and Four Goats”, c.1610–13, from a series of six landscapes after
drawings by Roelant Savery (1576–1639) (note that the Savery’s drawing for this
print is now lost).

Etching and
engraving on fine laid paper trimmed to the image borderline.

Size: (sheet)
21.1 x 28.3 cm

I am unable to
determine the state of this impression (there are six states in total) as the
publication details have been trimmed off. Nevertheless, the impression is
richly inked and crisp showing very little, if any, wear suggesting that this
is an early impression and no doubt a lifetime impression.

Condition: Crisp
and strong impression of this extremely rare print in superb condition (i.e. there
are no stains, holes, folds or foxing). The print is trimmed to the image borderline
and on the back there are remnants of mounting hinges and a strip of reinforcing
(?) paper at the top centre.

I am selling
this print of the utmost rarity byAegidius
Sadeler (so rare in fact that even the British Museum does not possess a copy) for
AU$534 in total (currently US$403.31/EUR360.93/GBP308.49 at the time of posting
this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are
interested in purchasing this remarkably fresh early impression of an extremely
rare print that is seldom (if ever) seen on the market, please contact me
(oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make
the payment easy.

This print has been sold

This is a print
of exceptional rarity. It is part of a series of six landscapes of similar size that Aegidius Sadeler II
executed after drawings by Roelant Savery.

From my
standpoint, what makes this image particularly interesting is that it is a fine
example of the notion that was current in the 16th century—and is possibly
still current—of animism (i.e. the attribution of a living soul to plants,
inanimate objects, and natural phenomena). For instance, artists often featured
caves, chasms, natural rock arches and similar formations were the earth exposes
a secondary world below the surface terrain. Going further, artists like Savery
and Sadeler, leaned towards the insignificance of man compared to God’s
handiwork in creating the landscape by ensuring that staffage figures were small in comparison to the surrounding landscape.

As is also the case with landscape images at this time, the notion of vanitas
(i.e. all things must pass/die) pervades the scene. Note, for example, that
this scene is littered with broken old trees with fresh growth surrounding them—a
visual code of symbolism that most folk at the time would have understood to
mean that life is a continuum and nothing is permanent.